Debt swap suspension proof UPND is uncaring - Heritage

IT is disappointing that the government, which cam paigned on promises to im prove the living standards, has suspended the debt swap scheme for civil servants, New Heritage Party vice president Samuel Kasankha has said.

Mr Kasankha said in an interview that they were dis appointed that the new dawn Government had terminated the debt swap scheme in an “uncaring manner.”

He said the withdrawal of the facility had caused budget ary distortions for concerned workers whose September salaries had been subjected to deductions which the workers were not expecting.

“The New Heritage Party is taken aback by the uncaring manner in which the govern ment has dealt with the debt swap that was negotiated be tween public service unions and the PF government,” he said.

Mr Kasankha said much as debt swap looked like a gimmick by the PF to get votes, it was a good collective agreement which the current regime should not have just terminated without consultations.

He argued that the new gov ernment could not have arbi trarily overturned what was a collective agreement with the representative unions.

Mr Kasankha said the new dawn Government should have taken time to consult all parties about the discomfort with the arrangement and, if they were to reverse it, there should have been agreement by all parties.

He urged the Government, which campaigned on prom ises to increase salaries of civil servants by K1, 500 across the board, to exercise caution when dealing with the matter, lest they quickly demotivate workers.

Mr Kasankha appealed to the government to rescind its decision saying, “it is not too late to revisit this matter and return to the negotiating table.”